Swami Vivekananda - the Teacher
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International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE) Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2018, PP 1-15 ISSN 2349-0373 (Print) & ISSN 2349-0381 (Online) http://dx.doi.org/10.20431/2349-0381.0504001 www.arcjournals.org Swami Vivekananda - The Teacher Sudhish Chandra Banerjee* 2 Diamond Park, Kohinoor Apt. Flat-10, PO-JOKA, Kolkata-700104, India *Corresponding Author: Sudhish Chandra Banerjee, 2 Diamond Park, Kohinoor Apt. Flat-10, PO- JOKA, Kolkata-700104, India Abstract: Swami Vivekananda (Swamiji) was ordained to be the world teacher by his Guru himself. Swamiji taught the world in awakening the innate divinity through Yoga, attaining super consciousness mind-state with awareness of the infinite world that exist with cosmic mind, beyond our limited sensory-world.. Swamiji preached for man-making education awakening innate divinity. Some of his messages imparted as the world teacher are: All knowledge is within us, with awakening of the self it gets manifested. Western education, enabling one to be self-supporting, should be coupled with Eastern values - Brahmacharya as the guiding motto, with Shraddha and faith in one’s self. Nation building demands all inclusive education reaching the masses. Women education is stressed upon with Sri Ma Sarada Devi’s ideal as the pivotal point; imparting self- supporting and character building education, having no control of men in their management. We should do good to the world, apparently to help the world, but really to make us pure and perfect. Swamiji was beloved to all, being an emblem of personified Love- much more than his dazzling personality and wisdom of a sage. He was the prophet of a new and future order of development. Keywords: Anne Masefield Sullivan, Multi-verse, Prana, Personal magnetism, Divinity, Education, Nivedita, Sri Ma Sarada Devi, Women-education, Sadananda 1. INTRODUCTION Helen Keller was born 20 years after Swami Vivekananda‟s birth in 1863. She was locked in isolation when she became deaf and blind at a very tender age due to Scarlett fever. The only sense organ that remained active to the deaf, mute and blind girl was the sensation of touch. Miss Anne Masefield Sullivan (herself blind) was a gifted teacher and by her unique method of teaching by the means of touch opened up Helen‟s sense world of „word linked with thought’ making her a celebrity American author, political activist and lecturer overcoming her serious limitations due to non- functioning of the major sensory organs.1 Thus Helen Keller could perform as well, as anybody with functioning sense organs and could appreciate the songs of Rabindra Nath Tagore, just by touching his lips, when Tagore sang for her2. Helen Keller was conscious of her limitations in accessing the world of the senses but we are absolutely ignorant of the existence of the much bigger chunk of the world that do exist beyond the sensory world. Our level of consciousness is bound by the fetters of viewing everything through the perception of the five sense organs. Swami Vivekananda (Swamiji) made us aware of the limitations of the sensory world, defining the world to be of „Infinite existence*. He explained as to how through Yoga, by the appropriate nurturing of the mind, we can access the boundless unknown realm of the world through attaining a state of the mind which is much above our level of consciousness. Without Swamiji‟s assertions we would have been locked up in isolation to the limits of the sensory organs, ignorant of the existence of our own higher self. Thus similar to Sullivan who showed Helen Keller the path to feel light and sound, Swamiji, showed us the path in which we can go beyond the boundary of the five sense organs and thus may be applauded as a great world teacher--the teacher of the teachers. International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE) Page | 1 Swami Vivekananda - The Teacher ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. [*As if echoing Swamiji, modern Physicists of 21st century speak of the existence of a mysterious force & unknown staff termed dark energy and dark matter which consist 96 % of the universe, making our known universe -including our solar system with the stars/ nebulae /black holes etc- to be limited to only 4%. The existence of this 96% unknown mysterious staff has been conjectured, to explain the accelerated expansion of the universe3. ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Explaining about our common place view of the world, Swamiji writes in a poetic language, “The whole universe to us is a writing of the Infinite in the language of the finite‟‟4. Elucidating it he said, “A little of the Infinite projected into the consciousness ....we call our world. .... there is an Infinite beyond... and religion has to deal with both - with the little lump we call world; and with infinite beyond‟‟.5 Explaining the scheme of the universe Swamiji clarified, “ It is a circle within a circle, universe within universea. We have five senses and we represent Pranab in a certain state of vibration. ... ...Our range of vision is (in) only one plane of vibration of this Prana. ... The universe .. (consists) of layer after layer of varying degrees of vibrationc, ...... ....we can by Yoga (proper nurturing of the mind) bring ourselves to the state of vibration of another plane and thus enable ourselves to see what is going on there‟‟6 [a) As if echoing Swamiji, many of the 21st century Physicists are introducing the concept of the existence multi- verse instead of the term uni-verse that we speak of.7 b) Prana is a term used in the scriptures & in Vedanta; a simplified version of which can be explained as the „generalised manifestation of force (or rather energy of all sorts including life force);. ...... “It is the Prana that is manifesting action of the body and nerve currents, as thought force. From thought down to the lowest force everything is, manifestation of Prana‟‟.8 “....the physical manifestation of the Prana by physical means is called physical science, and that part which tries to control the manifestation of Prana as mental force by mental means is called Raj-Yoga9. Prana is the infinite omnipresent manifestation of power of this universe10. c) Like the 21st century physicists, explaining the scheme of the universe from the String Theory or, Theory of Everything, which is vibratory mode of things; Swamiji could visualize that “The whole universe is composed of subtle vibrations‟‟11,] Deducing the methodology on „culture of the mind‟ in accessing the world beyond our sense world, Swamiji speaks of the extraordinary power of the mind which can be manifest if properly cultivated. Citing a few examples on the extraordinary feats that our mind is capable of12, Swamiji, as a great world teacher, spelt out the science and methodology of cultivating such immense power of the mind (Practicing Yoga, etc). He assures that each one of us can grow such immense power of the mind and become great. The degree of excelling depends on the individual efforts with innate astuteness on mind control13. Swamiji further explains saying, “..there is no such realities as physical world, a mental world and a spiritual world. Whatever is, is one. .....it is a tapering existence; the thickest part is here, it tapers and becomes finer and finer. The finest is what we call spirit; the grossest the body. .....The universe of ours ......is the gross external thickness, and it tapers into something finer and finer until it becomes God‟‟13. Explaining the theory on „art of mind control‟ Swamiji adds, since all power lies with the finer part of the gross body (like the tiny thread like nerves bringing power to the swelling muscles), if we get „at the root of the thought (finer part of it)‟ before it appears as a full blown thought ultimately culminating to action, then it can be controlled. That is why purity and morality have always been the object of religion; since it is only a pure moral man who can achieve such control over his own mind. Also, by knowing the secret on evoking of the ripples of thought process one can attain the power to control every mind‟‟14; since our mind is continuity with the universal mind and can convey our thoughts directly with one another irrespective of the location15. Speaking more explicitly Swamiji says, “our bodies, our virtues ...our spirituality, all these are continuously influencing others....conversely ...we are (also) being influenced‟‟.15‟‟ Swamiji terms this as personality of a person, or, personal magnetism; which may be considered to be a very important trait for a successful teacher. Testimony of such personal magnetism have been cited by the famous sculptor Malvina Hoffman in her memoirs about the spell that Swamiji cast on her when she met him whilst she was a child. She International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE) Page | 2 Swami Vivekananda - The Teacher writes many decades later, “He made an imperishable impression upon me. He seemed to personify the mystery and religious „aloofness‟ of all true teachers of Brahma......I recalled with emotion ...this holy man ..Revealed to me more of the true spirit of India, without even uttering a word, than I had ever sensed in the many lectures .on India.. ..which I attended since‟‟16.. Same is the story on the Chicago address of Swamiji. Mrs S.K. Blodgett wrote about it saying “I was at the Parliament of religion in Chicago, in 1893. ....When that young man (Swamiji) got up and said, „Sisters and brothers of America‟, seven thousand people (of the Columbus hall) rose to their feet as a tribute to something they knew not what‟‟17. There is no explanation other than personal magnetism, to explain the deafening applause that followed for two minutes, from use of those simple 5 words of Swamiji, addressing as „sisters and brothers of America.‟ Coming back to the context on Swamiji‟s assertions about control and power of the mind, it has been stated that, “The whole of the universe is built upon the same plan .....